NEW RECIPES Mommy-Thai's Sinigang Garden Fried Rice Jordan Slammer Mungo Ulam Papaya Salsa Beef Nilaga Bangus Sinigang

A few months ago, I never realized that my cooking would be taken seriously, and I was flabbergasted when Mike (a friend from U.P.) asked me about my mungo recipe. Gack. I felt slightly embarassed because I thought I was the only person (along with my gastro-economical partner Gian) who can bear to eat these budget meals (really, mungo with salt? -- only once a week please...) At any rate, Karen also asked about my recipes and this led me to rethink this entire page. Now that I have an audience, I feel slightly responsible for the things I put here. That really changes things because I guess in the first place, all I wanted to do was let you know what I cook, and not exactly teach you how. At any rate, just take them for what they are and at the very least I guarantee that the food is edible and possible. An index of the recipes is on the left and a new recipe is added every two weeks (just like Diva,Diba?) So, thanks for paying attention and eat well. Cool Calamansi Juice First of all, I need to explain what Jordan Slammer is. I usually love making calamansi juice (Philippine lemon juice), whether at home or at the apartment. And most of the time, my friends don't understand why I have to put so much effort just to have a glass of juice. Well, for me, that's the fun part: making it. It all the more makes the juice taste better. My drink wouldn't taste as good had it not been freshly squeezed and lovingly made. And since I'm proud of this little ritual of mine, I thought I'd give it a name, like most worthy drinks do. So, my calamansi juice is called "Jordan Slammer". Jordan Slammer is actually a basketball product in front of our door at the apartment, which Mike, our neighbor, owns. It's a little plastic basketball goal which Mike uses to practice almost every afternoon. Why that name for my calamansi juice? God knows. I thought it just sounded good and intriguing. Besides, I never named a drink before, so it seemed like a good start. Here's the recipe: Jordan Slammer In a glass, squeeze the juice from four pieces of calamansi through a strainer. Add four heaping teaspoons of sugar. Fill glass with water. Stir until well mixed. Place a couple of ice cubes. Makes one delicious serving. Budget Meal When the budget doesn't allow it, we creative individuals have to resort to other means of feeding ourselves aside from the normal trip to Jollibee, or the typical fried pork tocino. In fact, you have to go below that can of tuna, in order to get a nutritional meal without the bokot (frightening) cost. Sometimes, you cook and eat a budget meal because you need to save your money for some expensive thing you want (like me and my skindiving equipment). Sometimes also, you eat a budget meal because we really just don't have any more money anymore (like me and my current state of finances). So, I'm giving everybody out there who's ever short of cash, some tried and tested ideas for the cash strapped hungry person. Here's a simple recipe I picked up from our househelp, Manang Arsenia, and a meal I've eaten for many an occasion at the apartment. It's simple to prepare (about an hour and a half, but mostly because you're boiling the mungo beans), nutritious (lots of vitamins from the mongo) and above all: cheap (the malunggay leaves don't cost anything). Here it is: Mongo Ulam at Its Finest One cup of Mongo (mung) beans, soaked in water for a few hours One cup of Malunggay leaves Two pieces of Okra, sliced One Tomato, chopped One Onion, chopped Three cloves of Garlic, chopped One beef bullion cube Some Oil Boil the mongo until tender. Drain the liquid. Sauté Garlic, Onions and Tomato in a saucepan. Put in cooked mongo. Put one and a half cups of warm water and the Okra. Drop bullion cube. Stir gently and simmer for thirty minutes. Season to taste. Eat with rice and Jordan Slammer. This meal tastes best when you're hungry after a full day's work, when you're too tired to cook anything else spectacular. It also tastes best after looking around the refrigerator, and finding out that the mongo is the only thing you can actually feed on at the moment. But most of all, this tastes best among friends, who inspite of your financial difficulties, will eat with you and your mongo. You can cook this everyday of the week, if you wish. But through experience, three days straight is the most tolerable. This thing costs seven pesos a serving, including the cup of rice that goes with it. (The Jordan Slammer will set you back about five pesos more). My friend Gian even saves more money by not putting the bullion cube, malunggay and okra: she just seasons the cooked mongo with salt and eats it. Now that's budget eating at its finest. (Dates indicate when the recipes appeared in Diva,Diba?) 2 November 1996 With lack of anything else better to do, I'm listing here a new recipe which I picked up last week from Discovery Channel. This recipe which I got from Caprial Pence (of Caprial's Cafe) is a delicious and easy salsa which I've made twice and twice loved it (along with my partner in gastro-economical delights Gian Gianan, my housemate): Papaya Salsa one small papaya, diced three tomatoes, diced one large red onion, diced three cloves of garlic (or more!), minced a teaspoon of minced ginger some calamansi or lemon juice, or rice wine vinegar some olive oil brown sugar (depending on desired sweetness) a teaspoon of hot chili sauce (or more!), or a couple of fresh small chilies (siling labuyo) minced Mix all these ingredients together and serve with any meat, preferably grilled or barbecued pork. Enjoy. Gian and I loved this salsa so much we ate it with everything... aside from the fact that it was also the only other dish in the house for a week... and we're planning a new version except this time with mangoes! I could just imagine it now... sarap...! 23 November 1996 This stew is basically how my Mom makes it. I'm just putting it here because I felt a dire need to have a recipe in this page somewhere no matter what. Here goes: Beef Nilaga some stewing beef (short ribs, beef shank, etc.) some potatoes, cubed some carrots, cubed a head of red onion, sliced whole black peppercorns (about a teaspoon) a head of cabbage, quartered string beans (I only put a few -- I hate these) patis (fish sauce) to taste Boil the beef with the onions and peppercorns in a saucepan for thirty minutes (or until the beef is almost tender). Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer for another thirty minutes. Add the string beans (or any other vegetable you like, such as cauliflower and broccoli) and stir in some patis (fish sauce) to taste. The patis is the secret ingredient here so pay attention when you put it. Let simmer for ten minutes and a minute before you serve the stew, drop in the cabbage in the boiling mixture (by the time you serve it, the cabbage should be cooked but firm). Serve with "soy sauce with calamansi" dip on the side. Mommy's cooking always tasted good when I was a child. She hardly cooks these days and just lets the househelp do it. But looking back, I think the food was good not because it was really "good," but simply because mom cooked it. I guess food's always better if its cooked by mom, don't you think? 25 November 1996 This is a recipe that I wrote in an unpublished issue of "Besteeled Benga Newsletter" (a failed newsletter of the things that go on in the apartment). It's the classic "Singigang" which I resurrected recently. It was actually cheap. I spent fifty-eight pesos for a meal good for four. And it took only twenty minutes to prepare and cook. Here it is: Bangus Sinigang 1 medium size Bangus (milkfish) 2 bunches of Kangkong leaves (swamp lettuce) 1 medium red onion 4 tomatoes 1 package Knorr sinigang mix (this is important, everybody uses this) 3 pieces chili pepper patis (fish sauce) to taste Wash the kangkong leaves and break into bite-size pieces. Slice the onion and tomatoes. Cut the fish into four generous pieces. In a saucepan, boil a liter of water. Sprinkle the Knorr mix in until dissolved. Put in all the ingredients into the saucepan and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. Add some patis to taste. Serve with rice. This recipe can also be done with pork, beef or chicken, but you have to soften the meat first before you place in the vegetables. Other seafoods also work (like prawns). The Knorr sinigang mix may seem like a cheat but I said, nearly everyone in the Philippines uses this! As my friend Jay says, its better than the real thing! (Those guys at Knorr make a fortune with this product alone). 30 December 1996 Look's like this week we'll have a double-header as I have to add something to the Bangus Sinigang of last time. I recently discovered a new way to cook the dish, inspired by my visits to the UP International Center's canteen, which serves authentic Thai cousine. This is: "Mommy-Thai's" Sinigang two pieces large squid, cleaned and sliced into "wheels" one-fourth kilo pork, sliced into chunks one small head of cabbage, sliced into strips three tomatoes, sliced one red onion, sliced one package Knorr Sinigang Mix (such a staple ingredient...) patis to taste several sprigs of kinchay, cut into one inch pieces (you must have this) a couple of hot chili peppers (more for the real Thai experience) Boil the pork first until it is tender (about forty-five minutes). Add the sinigang mix and adjust the water (to fit the amount recommended in the package directions). When it is simmering, add all the ingredients. Don't forget the kinchay (chinese celery/parsley?) as this is the absolute secret ingredient. After ten to finteen minutes, it's done. I cooked this dish for my friends last Christmas break, partly because I needed to clear the refrigirator in the apartment. (It needed defrosting before I go home for the holidays). The dish feeds about four hungry mouths (as I discovered for myself). I cannot over-emphasize the importance of the kinchay as it adds the right umph to this dish. And speaking of kinchay, here's a simple fried rice that uses it. When I'm hungry and there's some left-over rice in the fridge, I usually concuct this dish as a tv-snack: Garden Fried Rice one and half cups of cold cooked rice a lot of chopped and crushed garlic (its all up to you) chopped kinchay chopped celery salt to taste Saute the garlic and when brownish, add the rice. Remove the lumps in the rice using your cooking spoon. Sprinkle the vegetables and salt. Serve hot. Actually, the staple for fried rice is simply the garlic, but I try to liven it up with the kinchay and celery. Sometimes I even use chopped ginger (if you can take that) and parsley. If you have any left-over stuff in the fridge like ham, hotdogs or even tuna, you can make your own fried rice using the garlic and rice as your base. It's so easy don't you think? Back To The Top!

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